With over 1,000 members in Yemen, local ASM events are often standing room only. This level of enthusiasm from members and institutional partners is evident across a range of activities and throughout the country, from BioResource Centers which host multiple events each month, to Microbiology Mentoring Program participants eager to engage their colleagues and strengthen their labs.

The ASM Ambassador and Young Ambassador, as well as the BRC Fellow are instrumental in fostering new collaborations and implementing the resulting activities. Since 2012 ASM professional development workshops have engaged thousands of scientists, and established relationships with the institutional hosts. Further, four ASM Bio-Resource Centers (BRC) provide a dedicated spaces for the local scientific and health communities to access up-to-date resources and participate in continuing education opportunities and exchanges with scientists across the globe.

In addition to collaborations with universities and outreach to individual scientists, ASM engages with the burgeoning Yemeni Society for Microbiology (YSM) as a sister society. ASM also partners with the National Central Public Health Labs (NCPHL), to provide professional development opportunities which will strengthen clinical microbiological services.

ASM in Yemen

ASM Impact

ASM Members: 1,269

Bioresource Centers: 4

Virtual Workshops: 17

Microbiology Mentoring Program: 1 Cohort

Travel Grants, Conferences, and Professional Development Opportunities: 36 Awarded

Program Areas

BioResource Centers

Virtual Workshops

Microbiology Mentoring Program

Travel Grants for conferences and professional development opportunities

Strengthening and Expanding Clinical Microbiology in Yemen

ASM is supporting the efforts of the National Central Public Health Labs (NCPHL), Yemen to strengthen and expand clinical microbiological services, and by extension the country’s health system. ASM partnered with the NCPHL to provide professional development opportunities in early 2015.

One such activity, attended by 10 NCPHL staff, was a two-week workshop addressing best practices for safe and secure clinical diagnostics using ASM’s proven mentoring process. The ASM Microbiology Mentoring Program aims to strengthen and expand clinical microbiological services through long term engagement of laboratory staff. The workshop, held in March 2015, was comprised of practical lab exercises and classroom sessions that trained participants to mentor their colleagues in conventional microbiology and quality and biorisk management. Following the training, the participants returned to their labs with plans to conduct assessments to identify gaps, and begin mentoring their co-workers in best practices, with the remote support of ASM.

Despite the current political turmoil which poses significant challenges to their work, ASM looks forward to continued collaborations with the NCPHL-Yemen staff and hopes to further support their efforts through virtual consultations.

BioResource Centers (BRCs)

The purpose of the BioResource Center (BRC) is to provide scientists, educators, laboratorians, policy makers, and students with cutting-edge scientific resources, training, and increase their knowledge-base of biological sciences. The four BRCs in Yemen serve as locations for scientists and stakeholder to convene; offer access to cutting-edge scientific resources; and provide ongoing professional development training through scientific webinars, virtual workshops, and also on-site workshops and lectures.

The Country Ambassador is a senior scientist who represents ASM in Yemen, facilitating partnership and exchange with other scientists worldwide, while the ASM Young Ambassador is a dynamic young leader, who also represents ASM in Yemen, facilitating networking, professional development, and collaboration to strengthen science globally. The ASM Young Ambassador mobilizes the next generation of scientists to develop innovative approaches to meet the Grand Challenges in Science.